Russian Language Hall of Fame

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Let the night air cool you off
I don't have wifi where I live yet, so I can only get online when I go to school. But most of the time I'm at school, I am occupied by other, more pressing needs. Once I get situated, I'll be here more often. Just a little update so nobody thinks I've ran away. I plan on watching the rest of my leftovers next week sometime.



2022 Mofo Fantasy Football Champ
I don't have wifi where I live yet, so I can only get online when I go to school. But most of the time I'm at school, I am occupied by other, more pressing needs. Once I get situated, I'll be here more often. Just a little update so nobody thinks I've ran away. I plan on watching the rest of my leftovers next week sometime.
It's all good. I just started so there's always me to blame too for holding things back





Stalker / Сталкер (1979)
Directed By: Andrey Tarkovsky
Starring: Aleksandr Kaidanovsky, Anatoli Solonitsyn, Nikolai Grinko


Stalker is a rather quiet film, with a focus on ambient sound and noises rather than a more traditional musical score. There are a lot of long takes, with very low, deliberate movements, or even a completely steady camera. It gives you time to take in the scene, its tone, and what the film is trying to convey. The visual distinction between the world the characters inhabit and the Zone is fantastic. Outside the Zone everything is bathed in sepia, and it's intentionally mundane looking and quite bleak. The Zone is not exactly vibrant, but the use of full colour gives it a completely different atmosphere.

One thing I didn't previously like about the film was the lack of evidence regarding the supposed dangers that lie within the Zone. We're told that it is filled with traps, and that the landscape can change at any time, but we never witness any of that. However this time around, I saw that choice in a different light. The Stalker clearly has an overtly religious view of the Zone, and he wants others to give the area the respect he thinks it deserves. But without any concrete proof, he seems a little superstitious to the Professor and the Writer, who don't initially take his warnings seriously. It's effective at establishing his reliance on faith rather than science, and puts the audience in a similar position to the men he is escorting, who have to decide whether or not to trust that the threat is indeed real.

One of my favourite parts of the film happens shortly after the main characters enter the Zone. The Stalker talks about how his mentor had trampled down a flower bed, but that the smell of those flowers lingered for years afterwards. It's a rather simple line of dialogue, but I thought it was really great. The idea that things continue to exist within our minds after they've physically ended is not the most profound revelation, but I appreciated how something a little philosophical was inserted without any fanfare at all. That was something the film really excelled at.

While I did enjoy the final scene in the Zone, I'm still not a fan of the wife's monologue that comes after it. It just doesn't feel necessary to me, and I would've been happier if the film ended outside the fabled Room instead of continuing back past the blockade.
I think that I respect Stalker more than I actually like it, but I am glad that it was nominated since I was feeling a bit sour on the film when I rewatched it for the Sci-Fi Countdown, and fortunately this viewing was far more pleasant.

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My Friend Ivan Lapshin (1985)

An impressive style of film making and a very interesting nomination. I'm afraid some of it went over my head at first, as I got lost in so many secondary characters. Which is actually OK, as it felt like a fly-on-the-wall, you-are-there film.

That first person, historical effect was made even more so by the use of hand held cameras and non fancy cinema techniques, like panning to characters versus film edits to shift character focus. I think a more artsy approach would have been a deterrent to the first person telling of the Stalin Purges back in 1935, so kudos to the film maker.

I didn't remember exactly what year the film was made while watching it, I knew it was in the 80s. So I kept pondering was this made after the fall of Communism? Or during Gorbachev and the new openness? Anyway, I was quite interested in what Russian/Soviet era this was made. Now I see it was made in 1985...

Pulp Fiction
, that's what this movie reminded me of, with it's multiple personable characters...who are - but aren't part of the main story, and along with the everyday common vernacular gives the feeling that we're watching real people going about their lives the best they can. We see them banging their heads on low hanging shacks and complaining about spilling a can of petro, or drinking out of a bucket, etc. All of those little 'extras' made it seem very real to me.

I read where the film maker said of his fim:
My aim was to convey a sense of the period, to depict as faithfully as possible the material conditions and human preoccupations of Soviet Russia on the eve of the Great Purge.
He achieved that! In story, dialogue, structure, cinematography, editing, sound...in all, it felt like he had a time machine and made his film back in 1935.



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2022 Mofo Fantasy Football Champ
Hmmm, some of these are gonna be tough for me to find, but I won't give up!

I'm watching Cranes tonight. Then I'll for sure crack into those 2 Tarkovsky films. Heaven help me with Stalker again. I hope I was just in the wrong mood first go around.



2022 Mofo Fantasy Football Champ
Cranes are Flying



I really liked this the first time I saw it. The second time around it was just as good though. There are two main things that I love about the film. The first is the amazing performance by Samoylova. Just a truly emotional performance. She kind of reminds me if Audrey Hepburn in a way and boy can she act. Put in a lot of tough spots with her character and she nails every opportunity that she is given. Aecondly, it is a beautifully directed film by Kalatozov and there are a lot of beautiful shots. As sad as it was I think the war scene where Boris dies is very well done. And that ending, while heartbreaking is poetic beauty. Close to being an all time favorite for sure and it still can be.

+



2022 Mofo Fantasy Football Champ
Stalker



I really despised this film the first go around and was hoping a second watch would help change that. But it didn't. The hardest part for me is that it seems quite intentionally drawn out and could have been much shorter as there were certain times where nothing was happening. Another thing is that The Zone really didn't peak my interest either. It was kind of a blah atmosphere for me and it would have been nice to be mesmerized by it. The characters weren't likeable not that they had to be but I didn't care about what happened to them on this journey. I'm done ripping the film apart but I'd be lying if I said I didn't think it was quite overrated.




I found a suitable way to watch Levathian and I got Solaris ready. I'll tackle one of them this weekend.
I think I'll watch Stalker soon. I've not seen it before but you review and my recent viewing of Annihilation, has got me curious about it.



Sorry if I'm rude but I'm right
Originally Posted by Casual movie watcher surpassed by a masterpiece
drags on for much longer than necessary
nothing happens
boring
too long
didn't care about the characters
should've ended differently
style over substance
didn't get it
Forrest Gump was better
__________________
Look, I'm not judging you - after all, I'm posting here myself, but maybe, just maybe, if you spent less time here and more time watching films, maybe, and I stress, maybe your taste would be of some value. Just a thought, ya know.



Let the night air cool you off
Is there any idea of a deadline for this @jiraffejustin? I have been quite busy and I need to organize my watches!
Give me until Monday to come up with an answer, but also maybe remind me on Monday if you can. I'll check the temperature and hopefully come up with an agreeable deadline.



2022 Mofo Fantasy Football Champ
I have enjoyed the loose "deadline" if only because I trust all of us that are in this to get it done eventually. I still got 4 but have been able to take my time.



Tennis is finished tonight so i'll start up again on Monday with Planeta Bur. I've only got four left so it should only take a week, two at most if things come up.





Stalker
(Andrey Tarkovsky, 1979)

My first time watching Stalker and I was impressed! Oh, the beauty of it! I loved the opening scene that seemed to go on forever like time had been slowed down, and yet my attention level was high...I was engrossed. What a thing of beauty the gold monochromatic look gave to the film. But what really blew me away was the textures. It was so richly textured, the walls, the furniture, the floor, even the deeply lined face of the Stalker was textured. That my friends is a stunning use of side lighting. BTW, I seen this on a fully restored Criterion DVD, and damn did it look good.

I really liked how the film used monochrome color to represent the world of the Stalker, where he merely existed. But it's in the zone where he comes alive and so did the colors! I loved the look of the zone with the early morning soft light and mist...mist everywhere, like a soft blanket concealing the mysteries of the zone.

And such wonderful shooting locations through out the entire film. Way too many to mention but each location was a treat to the eyes and really made the story...So did the cinematography and lighting. The use of negative space in the compositions really impart an emotion of poetic peace and yet there's this understated uneasiness that occurs in the zone.

It's amazing how by the actor's reactions, we believe the zone is this place with ever changing mazes, where the laws of physics don't seem to apply and danger is only a misstep away. Yet, we never seen any evidence of that...but I totally believed it, and that's thanks to an intelligent script and really strong acting by the lead (the Stalker). The score too went well with the film and it was used very lightly. Stalker is about a personal experience...it's reflective, as four people go into the zone...The fourth person is the movie viewer. I really felt like I was on the journey with them.



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